Latest Episodes

Episode 63: Operation Babylift: Carried Home and the Bonds That Endure

In this episode, host Tom Betti is joined by three special guests - Pan Am flight attendant Karen Walker Ryan and adoptees Carol Mason and Dr. Matt Steiner - to mark the 51st anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation ordered by ...

April 19, 2026 • Season 5 • Episode 63 • 1:39:44

Episode 62: Pan Am and the Art of Storytelling with Al Gilbert

In this episode, we are joined by Al Gilbert, known by his friends and family as Ace, a former Pan Am reservations employee and the author of

April 08, 2026 • Season 5 • Episode 62 • 1:04:34

Episode 61: The Aviator and the Showman - Amelia Earhart and Pan Am with Laurie Gwen Shapiro

In this episode, we are joined by Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a bestselling author, journalist, and adjunct professor at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. A member of the Explorers Cl...

March 22, 2026 • Season 5 • Episode 61 • 2:00:09

Episode 60: Cheryl Boone Isaacs – A Journey from Pan Am Stewardess to Hollywood Leadership

In this episode, we are joined by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a former Pan Am stewardess from 1972 to 1974 who went on to build an extraordinary career in Hollywood. Her journey is a remarkable one that spans aviation, Hollywood, and film ...

February 01, 2026 • Season 5 • Episode 60 • 2:05:04

Episode 59: Tania Anderson, Flying for Pan Am, Film Extra, & Life Adventurer

In this episode, we’re joined by Tania Anderson, who served as a Pan Am flight attendant from 1986 to 1991, navigating a pivotal era of transition, resilience, and global adventure for the world’s most iconic airline. Today, she sti...

December 02, 2025 • Season 5 • Episode 59 • 1:01:40

Fan Mail

I have recently discovered your podcast and I’ve been enjoying it very much. I have a suggestion for a episode, but I don’t know if this is the proper method of making such a suggestion. If there’s someone else or another number, I should be sending this to, please let me know. I have been married over 40 years to Ms. Anne Owen. She was featured in the first two Pan Am safety videos, in this case two different Airbus configurations. Both of her videos are included in your Museum's library archives and on YouTube. The video on YouTube has over a half million hits. Clips from her video have been shown on different TV shows as well as on a Netflix movie released two years ago. Online that video is considered the gold standard for airline safety videos in the United States. She’s lived a fabulously incredible life, having begun travel as a child with her parents, her father was an engineer stationed overseas. She’s lived in Indonesia, Nigeria, Spain, England and her family has lived in the Middle East in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, and she has spent significant amounts of time in Turkey as well. She’s attended school in Spain and other foreign countries. Julia Cooke on her blog promoting her recent book about Pan Am, "Come Fly the World" had this to say about Anne: Her stories of her life and of her time as a Pan Am Flight attendant ( London 1979-83; JFK 1983-1989), are funny, scary, but always interesting. You would not regret having her as a guest. Her video links are here below.

Silver Spring, Maryland

Tom Betti

Host

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